September 13, 2006 Approved: 10/11/06
6:00pm
Executive Session for Parent Appeal
Pursuant to
RIGL 42-46-5(8)
6:30pm
Reception for New Employees
7:00pm Worksession
Central Administration Building
“Challenging
Student Excellence”
Minutes
I. Meeting
Organization
A.
Call to Order; Pledge of Allegiance; Don DeFedele called the meeting to
order at 7:05pm.
B.
Roll Call:
Present: Chairperson
Donald DeFedele, Dr. Janice DeFrances, Renee Cockerill, Barry Martasian,
William Mudge, Melvoid Benson, William Brennan – Jamestown Representative.
Absent: Dr. Denise
Coppa
Administration
Present: Dr. James Halley, Superintendent; Dr. Barbara
Fitzsimmons, Director of Curriculum; William Daly, Director of Human Resources;
Maureen Buck, Director of Administrative Services, Lee Rabbitt, Director of
Technology
C.
Calendars:
Dr.
Halley went over dates of interest with the Committee:
1 There is an open house both September 13th
and 14th at Fishing Cove Elementary at 6:30pm.
2. There is an open house on September 18th
at
3. On
September 19th there is a SELAC meeting at 7:00pm in the NK Library
and an open house at Hamilton Elementary
at 6:30pm.
4. On
September 20th there is a School Committee candidates training at
7:00pm in the
budget
and finances. There are also open houses
at DMS at 6:30pm and WMS at 7:00pm.
5.
There is an open
house at Hamilton Elementary on September 21st at 6:30pm.
6.
There is an open
house at Davisville Elementary on September 26th at 6:30pm.
7.
On September 27th there is a School Committee
Business meeting at 7:00pm. An executive
session is scheduled for 6:00pm which will be moved to 5:30pm. A reception for the NK Teacher of the year
will follow at 6:30pm.
D.
Ground Rules:
Don DeFedele referred to a list of ground rules for the
Committee to approve and abide by at the meeting.
Motion was
made by Don DeFedele to approve the ground rules. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote: to approve 5 to 0 with Bill Mudge abstaining
II. Routine
Items:
A. Correspondence:
1. Dr. Halley announced the following
correspondence sent to the Committee:
a.
Procedures for
processing requests under the Access to Public Records Act.
Motion
was made by Bill Mudge to send these procedures to legal counsel to insure that
they are legal and in compliance
with the
OMA. Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Vote: unanimous to approve.
This item will be added to the next agenda for
discussion.
Motion
was made by Melvoid Benson that a School Committee member not have to pay for
materials that he/she feels is
needed to
do their job. Seconded by Bill Mudge.
Barry Martasian made a point of order that this motion
was out of order because the Committee was still discussing
correspondence. Mr. DeFedele upheld this point of order.
Mrs. Benson withdrew the motion.
2.
Bill Mudge
submitted the following correspondence:
a. Letter that five parents sent regarding the Guidelines
for Potentially Controversial School Program.
Mr. Mudge
requested that
this be added to a future agenda. (Appendix A)
Mr. DeFedele
stated that he has previously asked that the Committee be provided with
information prior to the meeting
in order for
them to review it to make a decision if they wanted an item placed on the
agenda.
Recess was
taken at 7:24pm
Meeting
resumed at 7 :28pm
b. Letter to
Gatorade regarding nutritional value.
(Appendix B) Request that it be
forwarded to the Food Supervisor.
c.
Correspondence regarding the Boosters letter concerning the cuts made to
the athletic budget. (Appendix C)
Motion
was made by Melvoid Benson for the Boosters request regarding the athletic cuts
be placed on an agenda for
discussion and consideration.
Seconded by Renee Cockerill.
Vote: 4 to 2 to approve with Don
DeFedele and Barry Martasian voting no.
Dr. Halley pointed out that contrary to Mr. Mudge’s
response to the Boosters, he recommended a full athletic budget to the
School Committee and never recommended
cuts. The athletic cuts were decided by
the School Committee. Mr. Mudge’s
Response to the Boosters was inaccurate.
d. E-mail
concerning band instruments being brought on buses. (Appendix D)
Motion was made by Melvoid Benson to put on
an agenda a discussion of the policy of band instruments on buses.
Seconded by Bill Mudge.
Janice DeFrances stated that to put this
issue on the agenda, the Committee needs to review the whole policy.
Mrs. Benson withdrew the motion.
Motion
was made by Melvoid Benson to put the transportation policy on an agenda for
discussion. Seconded by Janice
DeFrances.
Vote: unanimous to approve.
e. E-mail
concerning the understanding between the Town Council and the School Committee
that they would agree to
fund up to $1million
of the school capital reserve funds on the high school ISDS system. (Appendix E)
Motion
was made by Bill Mudge to discuss the $1million understanding that the Town
Council and School Committee had
with
respect to using school Capital Reserve funds for the high school ISDS
system. Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Barry Martasian stated that this is not a matter that
ever came before this Committee. It was
already done before this Committee
was seated.
Mr. Mudge stated that this Committee
never discussed it and he did not believe there was an agreement. The ISDS was part of a
bond.
Mr. DeFedele stated that this was out of
order to discuss this item. It is not on
the agenda.
Janice DeFrances appealed to the
Committee to work together better and have discussions without arguments.
Dr. Halley stated that this is not an agenda item for
tonight. An hour into this meeting, the
Committee is only on correspondence.
This is adding an item for a future
agenda when the Committee does not get past the consent agenda. He wanted to stress the
point that the Committee does not get
to agenda items.
Vote: 4 to 2 to approve with Don DeFedele and Barry
Martasian voting no.
3. Melvoid
Benson stated that she had received 52 items of correspondence concerning
transportation.
B.
Disclosure of
Executive Session Votes:
Dr. Haley stated that an executive session was held
tonight concerning a kindergarten entrance age appeal.
There was a motion to accept the parent appeal.
The vote was 4 to 0 in favor.
Mr. Martasian, Mrs. Cockerill, Mr. DeFedele and Dr. DeFrances
were present.
Consent
Agenda Items:
Approved
items on the consent agenda
are marked with * on a
motion by Janice DeFrances/Renee Cockerill with a vote of 6 to 0.
Approved items that were exempted or amended within the consent agenda are marked with ** as
indicated immediately following the item.
Withdrawn or Tabled Items
from the consent agenda are marked with *** as indicated immediately following
the item.
C.
Home Schooling
Requests*
D.
Approval of
Minutes:
1. August 15,
2006 Special Meeting*
2. August 23, 2006 Business Meeting*
E.
Bids and Awards:
1. Calculators
– District-wide**
There was discussion concerning the need
for students to all be using the same calculator and the escalation of the
level
of sophistication of the
calculators. This will allow for equity in that all students to be able to have
the same quality of
calculator.
In order for calculators to
be able to plug into our computers, they all need to be the same. We get a substantial discount
for buying in this quantity
and it comes from the Curriculum budget.
This purchase provides a classroom set for each
math teacher which avoids
them having to share materials. All
calculators will remain in the classrooms.
Motion was made by Renee Cockerill to approve the
purchase of calculators. Seconded by
Janice DeFrances.
Vote: 5 to 0 to
approve with Bill Mudge abstaining.
2. DMS Fuel
Tank Bid*
F.
Personnel Items:
1.
Appointments,
Certificated Staff:**
a)
William Savasta,
4 Business Teacher – 1 Year Only at the
b)
Danielle
Daglieri, .6 FTE Art Teacher – 1 Year Only at
c)
Mary Lee Howard,
1.0 FTE Literacy/Reading Consultant at
d)
James Bruneau,
1.0 FTE Science-1 Year Only at the
e)
Mark DeLucia, .6
FTE Spanish Teacher – 1 Year Only at the
f)
John Garcia, 1.0
FTE Grade 5 Teacher – 1 Year Only at
2.
Appointment,
Department Chairperson,
Lynn Wolslegel Science $1325
3.
Appointments,
Non-Certificated Staff:**
a)
Margo Guirguis,
Food Service Worker at
b)
Robyn Wicker,
Paraprofessional at
c)
Joanne Feaster,
Paraprofessional at
d)
Alicia Sherwood,
Paraprofessional at
e)
Jessica Gillis,
Paraprofessional at Davisville Elementary
School,
6 hours per day, 5 days a week for a total of 30 hours per week, Step 1 with a
Bachelor’s Degree @ $11.47 per hour, effective August 28, 200 – budgeted.
F1 and F3 –
Bill Mudge felt that we are violating policies by
approving employees after they have been hired.
Don DeFedele reminded Mr. Mudge that we have received
our attorney’s opinion on this subject.
Mrs. Benson stated that we could have a meeting in
July to do this.
Dr. Halley stated that all of these appointments are
budgeted items. The School Department is
just implementing the budget. Our
attorney has informed us that this is proper practice.
Bill Daly explained that this is the first opportunity
we could have presented these appointments to the Committee. These are last minute changes such as filling
resignations. These could not have been
approved any earlier and we cannot start school without the proper amount of
teachers.
Don DeFedele noted that the law states that the
Superintendent is in charge of the district.
The School Committee sets policy and approves appointments. We paid our attorney to give an opinion on
this issue and he said this was fine to approve appointments after hiring the
employee.
Dr. DeFrances stated that the Superintendent has to
fill positions. They are considered
temporary until approved by the School Committee. All of these are budgeted positions.
Motion
to end debate was made by Don DeFedele.
Seconded by Renee Cockerill.
Vote: unanimous to approve
Motion
was made by Barry Martasian to approve items F1 and F3. Seconded by Renee Cockerill.
Vote: unanimous to approve
4.
Appointments,
2006/2007 Interscholastic Coaches –Budgeted*
Jeremy
Sherer Girls Soccer
Coach --
(Funding
for the stipend, if any, will be subject to contributions from private sources)
Diane
Casey Girls
Soccer Coach --
David
Hoffer Boys Soccer
Coach --
(Funding
for the stipend, if any, will be subject to contributions from private sources)
5.
Approval for
Salary Increase – Grant Funded**
a)
Donna Thompson,
COZ Director, $38 per hour, 40 hours per week, 48 weeks per year, effective
July 1, 2006.
F5 –
This position is paid out of
Title One and COZ grants. This is salary
only. Health and pension benefits are
also paid.
This is a grant that is renewed
yearly and the person is only paid if the grant is approved. We have a reasonable assumption
that this grant will continue
for some time.
Recess was taken at 9:00pm
Meeting resumed at 9:10pm
Motion
was made by Janice DeFrances to complete the consent agenda through item H,
with the exception of item G,
in
order to let parents speak on the transportation item. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote: unanimous to approve
Motion
to end debate on item F5 was made by Don DeFedele. Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Vote: unanimous to approve.
Motion was made by Don DeFedele to
approve item F5. Seconded by Barry
Martasian.
Vote: 5 o 1 with Bill Mudge voting no
6.
Increase in FTE,
Certificated Staff:*
a)
Mia Thompson,
Itinerant Art Teacher, from .8 FTE to .9 FTE with an annual salary of $44,408,
effective August 28, 2006 – budgeted.
7.
Appointments,
2006/2007 Intramurals – budgeted**
Colleen
Pickering Director $1175
Colleen
Pickering Sandy Volleyball $467
Colleen
Pickering Flag Football $467
Colleen
Pickering Handball $467
Colleen
Pickering Volleyball
Tournament $467
Marcia
Sahagian Director $1175
Marcia
Sahagian Tennis $467
Marcia
Sahagian Volleyball $467
Alyssa
Walsh Floor
Exercises $467
Savas
Synodi Fall
Football $467
Savas
Synodi Spring
Football $467
Anne
Bianchi Walking
Club $467
David
Hoffer Table
Tennis $467
Denny
Brown Basketball $467
Denny
Brown Volleyball $467
F7 –
There was a discussion concerning the
difference in number of intramurals at each middle school. WMS does not have
in all requests in for
their intramurals. Bill Daly will look
into the status.
Motion was made by Renee
Cockerill to approve item F7. Seconded
by Barry Martasian.
Vote: unanimous to approve
8.
Request for an
Unpaid Leave of Absence, Certificated Staff:**
a)
Adrian Poland,
1.0 FTE 5th Grade Teacher at
The reason for the requested
leave of absence is because Ms.
district. This is a promotional opportunity and she
would be gaining experience to use if she returns. Ms.
valuable employee and has
worked for
to her position with the
district.
Some
members felt this leave would not be approved in the private sector and it is
setting a precedent that we would
need to
do for all employees.
Motion was made by Bill
Mudge to deny the request for a leave of absence for Adrian Poland. Seconded by Renee
Cockerill.
Vote: 4 to 2 to approve with Don
DeFedele and Barry Martasian voting no.
9.
Resignation,
Certificated Staff: *
a)
Carol McCormick,
Guidance Counselor, effective August 31, 2006.
b)
Kelly Harrington,
.6 FTE Spanish Teacher at the
c)
Susan Jay, 1.0
FTE School Nurse Teacher at
G. Policies:**
1. Alcohol
& Drug Testing Amendment #GBE.3;
2. SC
Organization and Conduct of Business #BD;
3. Non-Discrimination/Employment
Opportunity/Affirmative Action #AC-GBA;
4. Regulation for Non-Discrimination/Equal
Employment Opportunity/Affirmative
Action Complaints #AC-GBA-R;
5. Non-Discrimination of Basis of Sex #ACA;
6. Non-Discrimination of Basis of
Handicap/Disability# ACE;
7. Regulation for Non-Discrimination of Basis
of Handicap/Disability #ACE-R;
8. Grievance Procedure/Discrimination
Complaints #ACG-R (Removed at this time);
9. Regulation for Administrative Organization
#CC-R (Removed at this time);
10. Dept. Access to Insurance Proceeds for
Support Services #DDAA;
11. Tax Sheltered Annuities #DLB;
12. School Properties Disposal #DN;
13. Maintenance and Control of School Department
Books #EDBA;
14. Bus Contractor Selection #EEA.1;
16. Food Services Program #EF;
17. Site Plans/School Playground Designation
#FEDA.1;
18. Drug-Free Workplace and
19. Staff Welfare/Protection/Blood-Borne
Pathogens #GBG;
20. Regulations for Blood-Borne Pathogens
Exposure Control Plan #GBG-R;
21. Student/Employee Welfare Protection – HIV
Infection #GCGA-JLCCA;
22. Staff Personal Security and Safety #GBGB;
23. Regulation for Employee Selection/Staff
Hiring #GCF-R-GDF-R;
24. Staff Employment/Physical Examination
#GCF.1-GDF.1;
25. Employee Selection/Resident Interview
#GCF.2-GDF.2;
26. Professional Conferences, Seminars and Visitations
#GCID;
27. Regulation for Professional Conferences,
Seminars and Visitations #GCID-R (Removed at this time);
28. Professional Staff Continuing Education
#GCIE;
29. Evaluation of Instructional Staff #GCOA;
30. Curriculum Review and Updating #IGF;
31. Health Education/Student Exclusion #IHAM;
32. Regulation for Health Education/Student
Exclusion #IHAM-R;
33. Special Education/Programs for Handicapped,
Disabled and Exceptional Students
#IHBA;
34. Regulation for Special Education/Programs for
Handicapped, Disabled and
Exceptional Students #IHBA-R;
35. Supplemental Services to Special Needs
Students #IHBAA (Removed at this time);
36. Summer School #IHCA;
37. Regulations for Summer School #IHCA-R;
38. Textbook Availability, Maintenance and
Control #IJJA;
39. Supplementary Material Selection, Adoption
and Use #IJK.1;
40.
41. Field Trips #IJOA;
42. Regulation for Field Trips #IJOA-R;
43. Regulation for High School Class Rank #IKC-R;
44. Graduation Requirements #IKF;
45. District Program Assessment/School
Improvement Process #ILBA;
46. Attendance #JE;
47. Admission of Non-Resident Students #JFAB;
48. Regulation for Admission of Non-Resident
Students #JFAB-R;
49. Travel and Exchange Programs Policy #JFABB;
50. Attendance Officer #JHBA;
51. Student Safety #JHF (Policy to be voided);
52. Funding Student Participation in Out of State
Contests/Activities #JJGA;
53. Student Athletics – Interscholastic,
Intramural and Individual Sports Activities #JJI; 54. Door To Door
Solicitation
#JL (Policy to be voided);
55. Examination of Students/Pediculosis #JLCAA;
56. Immunizations #JLCB;
57. Regulations for Immunizations #JLCB-R;
58. Student/Employee Welfare Protection – HIV
Infection #JLCCA-GBGA;
59. Health Services/First Aid and Emergency
Medical Care #JLCE;
60. At-Risk Students/Identification, Intervention
and Postvention #JLDBB;
61. Reporting Child Abuse #JLF;
62. Regulations for Reporting Child Abuse #JLF-R;
63. Release of Student Information Records #JLH;
64. Student Automobile Use/Parking #JLIE;
65. Student Scholarships #JM;
66. Regulations for Awarding of Scholarships
#JM-R;
67. Student Recognition #JMA;
68. Public Access to Department Records #KDB;
69. Release/Disbursement of Requested Information
#KDBA;
70. Use of Students in Distributing Information
#KDCA;
71. Community Use of School Facilities #KF;
72. Regulations of Community Use of School Facilities
#KF-R;
73. Relations with Community Organizations #KJ;
H. Reaffirm
votes taken on August 23, 2006**
Motion was made by Janice DeFrances to
approve item H to reaffirm votes taken on August 23, 2006. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
The
reason for reaffirming the votes was because the advertising on the Secretary
of State website was not on for the full 48 hours that is required. The agenda was submitted on time, but did not
appear on the website. As soon as the
school department was made aware of the situation, it was resubmitted. All other required advertising was made. There was discussion if this was in violation
of the OMA.
Motion was made by Bill Mudge to fire
Dr. Halley for violating School Committee policy. No second.
Motion was made by Don DeFedele to end
debate. Seconded by Janice DeFrances.
Vote: 4 to 1 to approve. Mr. Mudge voted no. Mrs. Benson did not vote.
Motion was made by Don DeFedele to
approve item H to reaffirm votes taken on August 23, 2006. Seconded by Renee Cockerill.
Vote:
4 to 1 to approve. Mr. Mudge
voted no. Mrs. Benson not in attendance.
END OF
CONSENT AGENDA
III. Unfinished
Business
A.
Transportation
Public Comment:
1. Karen Holger asked the Committee to
reinstate a bus in the Yorktown area going to
Mrs. Benson asked if parents received notification of
the sex offender in the area. Ms. Holger
answered that they did.
Motion was made by Bill Mudge to provide bus service
to
Bus routes could be rearranged, but the effect will be
longer routes and bus rides. Routes are
timed and adding to them creates a snowball affect. When one route is changed, it affects
another.
If we add another bus, it would
be off line most of the time which would not be the most efficient way to use
our money.
Motion was made by Don DeFedele that transportation
look at the area, redesign the routes and also provide the cost of additional
bus service to that area. Seconded by
Barry Martasian.
Bill
Mudge suggested that we have spare buses that can provide that service or we
could use a Recreation bus.
Mr.
DeFedele withdrew his motion, as there was a previous motion on the table.
Amendment to the motion was made by Bill Mudge to add
the word “immediately” to the motion.
Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Vote on amendment:
unanimous to approve
Maureen
Buck stated that we have spare buses, but not spare drivers.
Don
DeFedele left the meeting at 10:05pm.
Janice
DeFrances took over as Chairperson.
Vote on motion as amended: 4 to 1 to approve with Barry Martasian voting
no.
Motion was made by Barry Martasian for the Director of
Transportation to give the Committee a report on what effect this has on
transportation and all the ramifications including cost and effect on
schedules. Seconded by Bill Mudge.
Vote: 5 to 0 to
approve.
Bill
Daly cautioned the Committee to be careful when making comments on an
employee’s performance.
Motion was made by Barry Martasian to adjourn after
public comment. Seconded by Renee
Cockerill.
Vote: 4 to 0 to
approve with Melvoid Benson not voting.
B.
Wellness
Committee – NO DICUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
C.
Auditor General’s
report on School Department – NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
D.
2006-2007 School
Budget – NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
E.
Modernization of
WMS/DES – NO DISCUSSION OR ACITON TAKEN
F.
Bond Issue Update
– NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
G.
2005-2006 School
Budget – NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
IV. New
Business – NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
V. Reports
– NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
A.
Special reports – Quarterly Security Reports
B.
Standing/Sub Committee Reports
C.
Ad hoc Committee Reports
VI. Public
Comment:
1.
Paul Dion asked
if the Committee voted to add a bus.
Dr. DeFrances answered that they did not. Routes would be rescheduled.
Mr. Dion was against changing bus routes. If we added a bus, we could have it do other
runs. He asked to consider having it go
after the worst runs so the bus would not be sitting idle.
2.
Kristen Almeida
stated that the bus was there for fifteen years and asked why that this was the
first year it was not.
Mr. Martasian explained that the start times made
a difference.
3.
Jim McGwin stated
that these meetings are sad. He was
embarrassed when the Jaquars were here.
He saw a policy on ethics
and it has been on the agenda for three meetings
now. The Auditor General said to “take
all due speed” to implement policies.
The Committee doesn’t get to business.
He suggested a high school student to act as parliamentarian.
Mr. McGwin submitted comments on ethics and the
whistleblower policy (Appendix F)
Mr. McGwin also was concerned about the girls high
school dance team being considered an activity instead of a sport. They are also having a problem getting a
coach for the team. He submitted correspondence with the high school on this
subject (Appendix G)
He has been communicating with the principal and feels
it is no one’s fault, but it has fallen through the cracks.
Bill Daly stated that there is a parent coaching
now. The job was advertised internally
with no response, and is now being advertised outside.
Dr. Halley advised Mr. McGwin to talk with Mr. Foley
and if he is still not satisfied, he should bring it to the School Advisory
Committee or the Superintendent.
Motion was made by Bill Mudge to have a report
immediately on this issue. No second.
Janice DeFrances instructed Mr.
McGwin to go to the Principal and Athletic Director tomorrow. If he wasn’t satisfied, then
he should go to Dr. Halley.
4.
Dr. Halley
commented on finances and the Auditor General’s report. He stated that there is a misunderstanding
about the
responsibility of who creates policy about
finance. The rules are established by
the Town and the Town Charter states that we are part of the Town. The School Committee can make rules, but they
can only be that. We must follow the Town. It is the Town’s responsibility to establish
finance policies and that is what we have to use.
5.
Bill Mudge stated
that we have the Town Charter and policy to follow, but we don’t follow our
policy. The guidance and
direction are there.
The books closed on July 1st but we issued $400-$500,000 of
purchase orders. This is a violation of
state law that has been done for five years.
6.
Melvoid Benson
commented that Dr. Halley’s statement was heard and asked him to put it in
writing and send it to the Town
Council.
7.
Doug Roth
suggested that intramural sports be moved to budget by program.
He also stated that the Sleep Time Committee made a
recommendation to consolidate the bus runs to improve the start times.
Mr. Roth asked Dr. Halley if he knew that the twenty
seven hours of advertising was a problem meeting the OMA.
Dr. Halley replied that we did submit the agenda to be
posted. We were informed it was not up
and corrected it`. It was advertised in
all the other places required.
Mr. Roth asked if Dr. Halley knew we were in
violation.
Dr. Halley responded that he does not think we were in
violation.
8.
Kathy Brown
stated that she was glad to see that the policies were exempted. She suggested that the policies be grouped by
new, edits, etc.
The policy sub-committee could do a report.
Meeting adjourned at 10:50pm.
Respectfully
Submitted,
______________________________
Karen
A. Nutini
Administrative
Assistant
to
the Superintendent/School Committee